Double Gold!!

Cory was a double Gold Medalist at the Special Olympics British Columbia Provincial Summer Games last weekend!

These Games are held every four years and are used as a qualifying competition for the next National Games, also held every four years, this time in London, Ontario in July, 2010.

The Games were held in Abbotsford, BC, about an hour's drive east along the Trans-Canada Highway from Vancouver from July 9 to July 11. Cory participated in 5-Pin Bowling, which is a team event for the purposes of qualification for the Nationals, but there are also medals presented individually.

Cory had the best overall score for the 6 great games he played, and Cory's team took first place in their division. Two Gold Medals.

For Provincial Games, athletes travel as a team, without parents or caregivers, staying in school gyms or classrooms. Cory and his team met in the parking lot of a local hotel on Thursday afternoon, July 9, to board their bus to take them to Abbotsford.

Cory's in the middle holding a large garbage bag:

On the right with his 3 bowling teammates:



Some last-minute instructions from the team chef-de-mission:





Cory has learned that there is a lot of baggage-handling when you're an athlete, so here he is loading his own bags onto the bus:

Time to board:

Get a good view from a window seat:

And off they go!

Later in the day, we drove to Abbotsford to attend the opening ceremonies that night:

And a crowd forms at the site of the opening ceremonies:

And the opening ceremonies were excellent, with Gordon Campbell, the BC Premier, and Wally Buono, head coach of the BC Lions in attendance, with Tamara Taggart, a local CTV personality as MC.

The audience waits in anticipation of the athlete's march into the arena:

And Cory's team (Region 4) enters the arena - I have to learn not to ring our cowbell while I'm using the camera! The view settles down about a third of the way through the video just in time to see Cory recognize us in the crowd, smile and wave:

Our athletes are now in their seats, and Cory hears me ringing that cowbell and again smiles...

Some inspiration from the Premier:

A bit of fun with beachballs and Cory has his chance just at the end of this video, just before...

...the arrival of the Special Olympics Torch. The Torch was carried throughout British Columbia by law enforcement officers in the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which is also used as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. Cory participated in the Run when it came through Delta, BC on June 25 - he's right in the middle of the pack here:

And now the lighting of the Torch:

So the Opening Ceremonies are done, and the next morning, the competition starts. Cory and his team arriving at Galaxy Bowl in Abbotsford on Friday morning, July 10:

A few words on competition at Special Olympics. There is a wide range of skill and ability that Special Olympics athletes bring to competition. In order to provide a level playing field, different approaches are taken at different sports. In team sports, divisioning takes place based on a team's skill level, and "A" compete against other "A" teams, "B" teams against other "B", etc. In skiing, one timed race is held at the beginning of the competition and those times are then used to identify Novice skiers, Intermediate skiers, and Advanced Skiers. Novice race against novice, intermediate against intermediate, and advanced against advanced. This is done regardless of age, just skill level. So it is as fair as it can be.

In 5 Pin Bowling, averages are used and the bowlers then compete to see who bowls the highest versus his or her average, by gender - highest male, highest female. So it's not the highest score that determines the winner, but the highest score compared to that bowler's average. The average was determined using the first 25 games of league competition, which in Cory's case was from October to December 2008. During that time, he averaged 203, certainly the best average from our team of 21 bowlers, and quite possibly, the highest average in the province. So Cory's average of 203 is quite good, even for a non-disabled bowler.

But in Special Olympics competition, it's all about points over average. Now a bowler with an average of say 140, whose skills are still developing, can bowl say 200, even 210, on a fairly regular basis. That bowler would then earn 60 or 70 points over average. For Cory to match that score, he would have to bowl 263 or 273. Now a lot of things need to go right for that kind of score. Just a few frames without a spare or a strike and that makes a 270 quite unachievable.

At Special Olympics Provincial Games, 5 Pin Bowling is a team competition, with each team having 5 bowlers. The averages of all five are added up, and compared to the actual scores of all 5 bowlers to determine the winning team. So since the other members of Cory's team have averages in the 105 - 120 range, we'd hoped that Cory would be able to at least maintain his average (since too many games, even in the 160 range, would really hurt his team's chances), and that the other bowlers on the team would contribute to a high score over their averages.

But in sport, as in life, as in a box of chocolates it's been said, you never know what you're going to get. Cory didn't just bowl his average, he blew it way, with an average of 219 for the six games. He saved his biggest game ever in competition for when it meant the most. He bowled one game of 294 - 7 strikes in that one game alone! Performing at his best when it's most meaningful, under great pressure - that's the mark of a champion. And Cory is learning how to do just that.

He worked hard to be ready. His coach had held one practice per week since late May but Cory wanted to do more and took the half-hour bus ride to the bowling alley to practice a couple more times per week during the last month or so. He'd also had some success at Galaxy Bowl in Abbotsford, and his coach held one practice there the week before the Games, just to make sure the athletes were comfortable at the venue. He bowled an awesome 330 during that practice, so he knew he was well-prepared, focused on the process of bowling well (hitting the target, follow through, balance, etc), and very confident. And it all came together for him and his team on game day.

But Cory's team was struck by tragedy 2 weeks before the Games. To make up the required 5 bowlers, a bowler from a neighbouring community named Ron joined Cory's team and they all practiced together from May and into late-June. On Friday, June 26, Ron died in an industrial accident. Cory, another teammate, and his coach attended Ron's memorial service on July 3.

On that first day of competition, Cory bowled 228, 184, and that amazing 294 game. He twice had 3 strikes in a row - known as a turkey - and one other strike for a total of 7 strikes in 10 frames in that game:

Strike #1:

#2:

And the first Turkey (with a turkey flashing on the score screen above):

And then this close to his 4th strike in a row:

Starting the 2nd Turkey with strike #1:

Strike #2:

Turkey #2:

So 3 very good games, and Cory provided his team with 97 points above his average. Two of the 3 other players on his team did well too, the other one faltered a bit, so after the 3 games, Cory's team was in 3rd place out of the 20 teams competing, and in 2nd place in their division of 6 teams, with 3 games to be played the next day, Saturday July 11.

Cory had another good day on Saturday. He started a bit slow with a 177, with things not going quite like the extraordinary day before.

But Cory stayed focused and things started getting a bit better, with a 212 in his second game. Here he just misses on a strike, but follows up with a good shot for a spare - and with a lot of focus before throwing the ball:

An exhuberant mum cheering on her son, "woooooo-hoooooo":

And another good ball here, with congrats from Kerry, Coach Judy, and Chelsea:

While the results are posted after each game, the athletes are too busy playing to be able to check them out. After the 5th game, with only one more game to go, Cory's team was still in 3rd place but had now taken over 1st place in their division. So I now knew that Cory and his teammates had a chance for GOLD! But I wasn't about to tell them of course. Couldn't chance that they would get too excited and distracted about being so close to a Gold Medal. And I knew that Cory was in the top 5 overall so he had a chance for an individual Gold too.

By the 8th frame, I could tell that Cory was starting to look a bit discouraged. I guessed that he was thinking his first game of 177, and even his second game of 212 (a good game but not like the 294 of the day before), would not be good enough for him to win. So I took a chance and quietly went over to him and told him "You're still in this, you're in the running. Go for it, you still have a chance to win". Risky, as this could put too much pressure on him. But I've gotten to know him in competition. I know that he usually responds and he has a deep will to win. He proved that to me at a ski racing camp on Mount Hood, Oregon, in 2007, and I hoped he would respond the same way again.

So up he went for the 9th frame - a very important frame in 5 Pin Bowling because if a bowler can then follow up with 3 strikes in the 10th frame, that's a total of 90 points, which can quickly change an ordinary game into a very good one. I watched, too nervous to film this time, and he really seemed focused. He took his time, stared at his target, started his delivery with a nice low approach and a good follow through and sure enough - a STRIKE!

Then the 10th frame, good focus...nice delivery....good follow through....rolling now...over the target...onto the head pin...and another STRIKE!!

2nd ball...good focus...nice delivery...good follow through...rolling over the target....on the head pin...yes!...no, oh no...the right corner pin remained standing in spite of pins flying all around it.

Still, a 216, 13 points over his average for the game, and he provided his team with 93 points over his average for the 6 games. Now, we'd have to wait and see what the results would bring.

Back onto the bus for the trip to the awards ceremony:

In a rather non-descript building, on a hot July afternoon with no air conditioning, our team waited for the results. First Division A, then Division B, finally Division C.

The 3rd place team was announced and medals presented. Then the second place team was announced and it wasn't us. So now I was worrying and wondering....what no medal at all? Or, could it be GOLD?? I had done a quick calculation and believed we'd be in second place...surely we couldn't be off the podium...could it actually be a GOLD MEDAL??

Here's the team's reaction to the announcement - my loud "yes!" preceeds it - with Chelsea and Cory celebrating at the front of the table, joined by Tyler, and then by Kerry, and then Coach Judy.

And then it was time for the individual medals...Gold Medal for Highest Series Score (all 6 games)...the Division A and B winners were announced at the same time and with the applause for them Cory did not hear his name called:

Then a Gold Medal photo opp before the athletes head back to their dorm to prepare for the closing ceremonies and to party the night away - no parents allowed mind you!

All together now - "GGOLLLLLLDD!!!!"

The next morning, Sunday July 12, back in Delta for the arrival of the team bus:

Cory getting off the bus, gold medals around his neck:

More baggage handling:

Talking about a great weekend, but not letting go of those medals!

So the Special Olympics British Columbia Provincial Summer Games come to a very successful conclusion for Cory. Not he must wait a month or two before learning whether he will represent British Columbia at the National Games next July in London, Ontario. You can be sure we will update this blog as soon as we know.

In the meantime, we'll go back to his skiing story, and we'll have a review of Cory's ski racing career later this summer right here.

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